Vacation Time
by MegTDJ
Summary: House is ordered to take a vacation. How to keep from going insane with boredom? (HouseCameron)
1. Chapter 1

Title: Vacation Time  
Author: MegTDJ  
Category: Drama, along with snarky humour  
Rating: FRT (Fan Rated Suitable for Teenagers)  
Pairing: House/Cameron  
Spoilers: Sports Medicine, Control  
Summary: House is ordered to take a vacation. How to keep from going insane with boredom?  
Disclaimer: House and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please don't archive without my permission.

Author's notes: For Misty, who wanted me to write a House/Cameron fic.

I'd already started writing this fic before the episode Control aired, but it wasn't really getting anywhere. Then I saw Control, and it just clicked. This _had_ to be an episode fix! And yes, I really do believe that his "no" was a complete lie. This is just my take on it. ;)

Btw, in order to set this fic straight after Control, I had to mess around with the time line a bit. The festival mentioned is a real event held in Cape May, New Jersey, and it's scheduled for the weekend of April 15, 2005. The episode Control originally aired on March 15, 2005, so there's a bit of a discrepancy there, heh heh. Just ignore that, 'k? ;)

Also, I know next to nothing about New Jersey, its landscape, and its people. Every single piece of information I have about it was gathered either from television or the internet, so you can pretty much bet that it's not one hundred percent accurate. I did my best, though! Please don't hurt me if I got something wrong. ;)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

**Vacation Time**

"I hope you realize that I know more than one thousand ways to kill a person slowly and painfully, and that I'm not afraid to use this knowledge for my own personal gain."

Dr. Moulton just gave me a blank look. "You really think threats are going to help you here, Dr. House?"

I shrugged. "It's worth a try," I said, trying not to let it show how disappointed I was that the comment had fallen flat. Damn, and I'd been saving that one for a special occasion.

"Look, I told you, I don't know anything, okay? Can I please go now?"

I studied him carefully, looking closely for any sign of deceit on his pudgy little face. Those shifty eyes... the sweat forming on his brow... oh, he was hiding something, alright. "Not until you hand it over, you little weasel," I said menacingly. I had just decided that perhaps use of the cane was in order when I heard high heels clicking on the floor behind me.

"Dr. House, what the hell are you doing?"

Crap. Cuddy.

Dr. Moulton took the opportunity to scoot from the room, so I was left facing the dragon alone. Oh yeah, I was petrified.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I challenged. "I'm doing time in the clinic, per your order. Unless you have something better in mind..."

"I mean, what were you doing to Dr. Moulton? It looked like you were about to cane him or something."

I offered her my most innocent expression and laid a hand on my chest in feigned shock. "Me? Never. I was merely... asking him a question." Yeah, that's right...

Cuddy folded her arms across her ample chest and gave me _The Look_. "What question?"

I tried to think up a suitable cover story, but finally settled for the truth. "He stole my Gameboy."

Cuddy stared at me for a second before she burst out laughing. "He stole your Gameboy?" she repeated. "_Dr. Moulton_ stole your Gameboy?"

The nerve. She was making fun of me. "Well, somebody did," I said defensively. "And he's been hovering around here all day, so either he took it or knows who did. I tried asking nicely, and I tried asking not so nicely, but he won't even throw me a bone."

Cuddy smirked. "A dog metaphor. How fitting."

"Woof." It was the best comeback I could think of, as my brain was still fuming over the unfairness of it all.

She gave me that look that I've come to realize is her attempt at figuring me out. She never really does, but she gives it her best shot every time, bless her. "Is there something bothering you?" she asked.

Bothering me? What kind of question was that? "Yes, there is," I said. "My Gameboy is missing. And dammit, I nearly had those space monkeys beat." Duh.

"No, this isn't about the Gameboy," she said. "You've been even more ornery than usual the past few days."

"Ornery?"

"Yes, ornery. You've been snapping at your patients..."

"That's what I _do_."

"...quarrelling with other doctors..."

"Ditto."

"...you made a little girl cry yesterday just by _looking_ at her."

"She was picking her nose! It was disgusting!"

"And what about your team?"

I froze mid-comeback as these words sank in. Yes, my team. For once, Foreman was the only one who could look at me straight after what had happened the week before. Still, I feigned innocence. "What about them?"

Cuddy shot me a disappointed glare. "You think I haven't noticed? Dr. Chase has been walking on eggshells lately for fear that you're going to fire him, Dr. Cameron has barely said a word, and Dr. Foreman..."

"Foreman's fine."

"Maybe so, but my question is, what have you been doing to them?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Chase screwed up. You know that as well as I do."

"And you're just going to hold this over his head forever? People make mistakes..."

"Are we done?" I'd just about lost patience with the conversation, and I still had a Gameboy to find.

"No, we're not done," she said. "When's the last time you took a vacation?"

I blinked at her, sure that I couldn't have heard her correctly. "What?"

Cuddy half-smiled. "Wow, it's been so long that you've forgotten what the word means," she said.

"I know what the word means," I said, annoyed that she'd managed to catch me off guard. "I meant... what does that have to do with anything?"

"You're stressed out," she said matter-of-factly. "You need a break. I'm sure that getting away from here for a few days will be good for you."

"I'm not stressed out! Well... no more than usual... but I don't need a vacation. I'm fine."

"I can make it an order if you want."

"What is this, the military? If you're implying that I work too much, I think you're contradicting yourself. You're usually at me to work _more_. And if you're implying that I never get out, you're wrong there, too. I had that monster truck thing a couple weeks ago..."

"So, go to another one," she said.

I rolled my eyes again. "Yeah, five hundred bucks a ticket... I should do it every day." Women...

Cuddy gave me her no-nonsense glare. It doesn't usually work on me, but somehow she'd gained the upper hand in this conversation, and it actually did make me feel as though I had to do what she said. I hate when that happens. "Take a vacation," she said with an air of finality. "Do something fun for a few days."

I followed her as she started for the door. "Like what?" I asked.

"I don't know... go to a baseball game, play golf, go for a drive in the country, take up skydiving... just do _something_ that isn't _here_."

"But..."

"Look," she said, turning around to face me again with that same glare magnified tenfold, "I want you out of my hospital for at least the next week, is that clear?"

My jaw just about hit the floor. "A week? What if there's an emergency? What if a patient's life is hanging in the balance, and I'm the only one capable of saving them?"

"Yeah, like you even care," she said as she swung the door open and stepped out into the main area of the clinic.

"I care!" I said before I really thought about it. Okay, so that wasn't exactly my usual M.O. "I... care that I might miss out on something cool, but I care," I finished.

Cuddy glared again and pointed for the door. "Out!"

It was like talking to a wall. "Fine," I grumbled. "I'll be out of your hair within the hour." I turned to go, but threw back over my shoulder, "But I'd better find that Gameboy. No way am I surviving a whole week's vacation time without it."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I grumbled my way from the clinic to my office, cursing everyone from Cuddy to Vogler to Wilson... but especially Vogler. If I was really feeling more stressed out than usual, it was all thanks to him. "Lab coat my ass," I mumbled as I pushed open my office door. It seemed to be his mission in life to make me miserable.

No sooner had I approached my desk and started gathering my stuff than Wilson appeared at the door. "There you are," he said. "I've been looking for you."

I glared at him without raising my head - my favourite intimidation tactic. One that never works on Wilson, I might add. "I was in the clinic," I said.

"Oh... well, that was actually the one place I didn't look."

Smart ass. "What do you want?"

He stepped forward and held something out to me. "I came to give this back."

I stared at it for a moment, not fully believing my eyes. When I finally convinced myself that I wasn't imagining things, I raised my gaze back to Wilson. "You didn't."

He smirked. Yes, Mr. Nice Guy, goody-two-shoes, butter-wouldn't-melt-in-his-mouth, little Jimmy Wilson smirked. At me. Greg House. He was so dead.

"I did," he said smugly. "I needed something to do on my lunch break, and that just happened to be close at hand."

"How many times have I told you not to touch my stuff without permission?" I demanded as I snatched my precious back from his dirty little paws.

"Obviously not often enough," he said. "But come on, it's not like I didn't bring it back."

"Yeah, well, thanks to you, Cuddy has demanded that I take a vacation."

"She what?"

"She caught me as I was about to beat the truth out of Dr. Moulton as to what he'd done with it, and told me I seemed more stressed out than usual and needed a break," I told him. "So, thank you very much. Now I'm going to have a whole week of nothing to do."

"Hey, it's hardly my fault. I wasn't the one getting violent with another doctor."

"No, oh no," I scoffed, "you have more civil ways of torturing your friends and colleagues." As proof of this, I waved the Gameboy at him and then stuffed it in my bag. "You're the one who should be punished, not me."

"Punished?" Wilson said with a laugh. "How is a week's vacation punishment?"

"Vacation?" said Foreman's voice from the doorway. "I could do with one of those about now."

I rolled my eyes and returned to my packing as Foreman, Chase, and Cameron entered the room. "Wanna trade?"

They all gave me identical blank looks. They're all so adorable when they're clueless. "You'd rather be here working than on vacation?" Foreman asked.

"Frankly, yes," I replied. "It's not like I've made plans or anything. Then it would be different. No, Cuddy has 'ordered' me to take a few days off at short notice. I'll probably die of boredom in the meantime, but maybe that's exactly what she wants. All part of her evil plan to get rid of me."

"Wow, it'll really be short-staffed here for the next few days," Chase mused aloud. "I'm leaving for Switzerland, Dr. Wilson has a conference, and... Cameron, aren't you going to that jazz festival this weekend?"

Cameron whirled around and swatted his arm. "Shh!"

But it was too late. I was interested. "Oh?" I said. "What jazz festival?"

Cameron looked like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "It's... the Cape May jazz festival. An old friend of mine is playing in one of the bands, and he gave me free tickets. I'm sure I told..." She stopped before she could finish her sentence.

I knew what she'd been about to say, though. She was going to say that she thought she'd told me, but then she realized that she hadn't been telling me anything at all lately, outside of stuff related to the job. To be honest, I was starting to miss the chatter. "Well, it... sounds like fun," I said, trying my best to sound cheerful. "I'm sure you'll be having a much better time than I will this weekend. Although, I _have_ been meaning to give the refrigerator a good clean. That should kill a few hours, at least."

Okay, so the cheerful thing wasn't really working out.

"I'm sure you'll find something to keep you occupied," Wilson said as he edged towards the door. "Have you tried golfing?"

"Oh, you're so helpful," I grumbled at his back as he left the room.

"Well, we'd just stopped by to offer you a new case, but since you're leaving..." Foreman saluted and turned to go. "Have a fun vacation, Dr. House."

I could have sworn he sounded victorious. Now I was left wondering what I was going to be missing out on.

"Yeah, have fun," Chase echoed. "You, too, Cameron, in case I don't see you later."

"Thanks," she said.

I didn't bother saying a word.

Cameron slowly followed after Foreman and Chase, but once they were out of sight, she stopped. I watched her curiously as she stood there at the door with her back towards me for a second, wondering what the hell she was waiting for. Then suddenly she sighed, turned around, and said, "I have two tickets and was only going to use one, so... if you want the other one..."

I felt a pang of guilt at the look on her face. I couldn't remember ever seeing her look at me like that before. It was like she was feeling sad, hurt, betrayed, guilty, convicted, scared, and resigned all at once. I didn't like it at all.

"That's okay," I said. "You go, have fun. You don't need your boss tagging along after you. Besides, the hotels in the area are probably already booked."

"It's just that I know you love jazz, so I'd feel bad if..."

"Really, it's fine," I cut her off. "I'll find something to do. I always do." I grabbed my bag and my cane and started for the door, hoping to get out of there before the conversation went any further.

Damn leg. I'm never fast enough.

"I really wouldn't mind you 'tagging along,' and I'm sure the friend I'm staying with wouldn't mind taking you in, too."

I stopped dead in my tracks and studied her closely. It looked as though the words she'd just said were positively painful for her. As much as the situation was making me uncomfortable, I had to admire that. Let it never be said that Dr. Allison Cameron doesn't have guts.

So, how could I possibly refuse?

"What do I wear?" I asked, hoping she would pick up on the reference. She'd said the same to me a couple weeks earlier when I'd asked her to the monster truck rally. Hopefully she would take it for the tension breaker I'd intended it to be.

She looked confused for a second, but then realization dawned. The ghost of a smile flitted across her face, but then it vanished. "I, um... I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, so if you want me to drive you down, or want to follow me in your car, then you should be ready by nine."

I nodded. "I've learned from past experience that following someone else's car never goes quite as planned," I said tentatively.

"Then... you can ride with me," she said. Before I even had a chance to respond, she slipped out of the room and disappeared down the hall.

It was then that I started to wonder just what I'd gotten myself into.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_"They like you. Everyone likes you."_

"Do you?... I have to know."

"No."

The words hung heavy in the air between us from the moment I got into her car. Actually, they'd been hanging in the air ever since they'd been spoken. Damn her for putting me on the spot like that in the first place. Things had been going along just fine until then.

She didn't say a word through the first half hour of the drive, which really sucked. The Friday morning traffic was sporadic and uninteresting, so all I had to do was watch the scenery. The radio was on, but it didn't really do much toward covering the intense _silence_. I knew I had to do something to get her talking if I was going to survive the remaining two hours of the drive, so I threw caution to the wind and spoke.

"Are you going to sulk in silence for the entire drive, or just part of it?"

Okay, so maybe that was the wrong thing to say.

She shot me a death-glare for a second before returning her attention to the road. "I'm not sulking."

I nodded. "Okay... moping, then."

Cameron sighed. "You know, this is my car, this is my vacation... I don't have to put up with your crap out here like I do at work."

Whoa. That was definitely unexpected. "My crap?" I said. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," she muttered. "Just forget it."

We were both silent for a minute or two, but then she suddenly burst out, "I just have to wonder, why did you agree to come with me if you don't like me?"

I cringed. I knew from the start I'd have to address that at some point during the weekend, but I was hoping it wouldn't be for a while yet. "I was dying of boredom, you had free tickets to a jazz festival," I said. "It seemed pretty logical to me."

"So, you preferred spending a weekend with me to dying of boredom. I'm flattered."

"You should be," I said, pretending not to notice the biting sarcasm in her tone. "There are very few people in the world whose company I can tolerate. You're one of them."

She looked over at me for a second with a confused look on her face. "You know, I just don't get you at all," she said as she turned back to the road.

I couldn't hold back a slight smile at that. "This surprises you?"

"We had a great time at that truck thing, didn't we?" she said without even acknowledging that I'd spoken.

"Yes, we did," I said. No sense even trying to deny it. We'd had a blast.

She pursed her lips in frustration. "I don't understand how you can enjoy yourself when you're with someone you don't like."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, will you get over it already? I like you, okay? Geez, are you always this insecure, or just when it comes to your co-workers?"

"Then why did you say..."

"Oh, you know me. I have a reputation for not liking anybody, and it's one I've gone to a lot of trouble to live up to. I tell Wilson I don't like him half a dozen times a week, and it never bothers him."

"Maybe it does, but you're too wrapped up in yourself to notice."

Ouch. That seemed entirely too probable for comfort. Suddenly the pain in my leg escalated from slightly-annoying-but-bearable to I-need-Vicodin-now levels. "You know what?" I said after a second or two, in an unabashed attempt at changing the subject. "I really need to stretch my legs as soon as possible. Think we can pull over at the next stop?"

I thought I'd kept any indication of pain out of my voice or body language, but she glanced over at me with a concerned look on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, reaching for the Vicodin in my pocket. "Just... sitting in a car for a while... bad for the leg."

She nodded and signalled that she was turning into the upcoming truck stop.

And so ended uncomfortable conversation #1 of our lovely little trip.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"I spy with my little eye, something that is... orange."

"The Garfield doll that's stuck to that car's rear window," I said, pointing dead ahead. "That was too easy. Okay... I spy with my little eye, something that is..." I looked all around at the scenery, the other cars on the highway, the interior of the car... and then my gaze fell on Cameron. "Brown."

"Okay, um... the dashboard," she said.

"Nope."

"The writing on that truck?"

"Nope."

She named half a dozen objects from the mud on the side of the road to the dashboards of the _other_ cars until she finally sighed and said, "Okay, I give up. What is it?"

"Your hair."

"What? That's cheating!"

"It is not."

"I couldn't see my own hair!"

"You could if you looked in the mirror."

"Well, I wasn't even thinking of things that were on _me_! That's unfair... I want a do-over."

"No do-overs. You lost. Point to me."

She muttered something under her breath that I didn't quite catch, though I was sure I heard the word "bastard" somewhere in there.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?" I asked.

"I said, 'I don't want to play this anymore.' We've run out of things to spy anyway. Let's try... word association."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but played along. "Okay, you start us off."

She bit her lip as she thought for a moment, and then said, "Jazz."

"BB King."

"That's not a word."

"It's the first thing that came to mind."

She rolled her eyes, but then sat a little straighter in her seat. "Wait a minute," she said as she watched a sign on the side of the road pass us by. "I think this is where we turn."

"Oh, goodie, we're almost there," I said, rubbing my hands together in glee. Well, I wasn't actually feeling gleeful, but I felt as though I probably should be.

Cameron handed me a scrap of paper and said, "Could you navigate from here?"

I took the paper and studied the scribbles on it carefully. "Did you write this, or a chicken?" I asked.

She sent a glare my way. "I'm a doctor. We're supposed to have lousy handwriting."

"Touché." I squinted at it for a few more seconds until I finally felt as though I understood the words. "Okay... take a right here," I said.

She turned right without question. For some reason, that jumped out at me as being a step in the right direction. At least she still trusted me.

Thanks to my amazing skills of shotgun navigation, we arrived at our destination less than five minutes later. It was a large, gorgeous house with an ocean view, the kind of place only the filthy rich could afford, and there was a limousine parked in the street-like driveway. I couldn't help but gape at first sight.

"Here we are," Cameron said as she stopped the car and undid her seatbelt. "Home sweet home, for the next few days at least."

I snapped my mouth shut and gave a low whistle. "Beautiful. Think they're taking offers?"

She laughed and got out of the car.

I was just following suit when the mansion's front door swung open and four very excited people ran down the steps towards us. "Allie!" one of the women squealed.

Cameron held her arms out and the still-squealing woman enveloped her in a bear hug, dancing on the spot for as long as she held onto her. When she finally let go, the other woman did the same. I was a little worried that they might sprain something, or possibly smother Cameron to death.

They soon let her go, however, and then the two guys moved in. One of them seemed a little awkward with her, but gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, but the other guy... for some reason, I felt my eyes narrow and my back straighten as I looked at him. He looked like one of those guys who grew up getting exactly what he wanted when he wanted it, and expects the same even still. His movie star good looks were probably a big help in that department, and I could tell from the way Cameron looked at him that his charms weren't lost on her.

This guy was trouble.

"My God, Allie, you look absolutely beautiful," he said as he looked her up and down. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her body tightly against his own.

"It's so great to see you, Dennis," she said.

All I could think was, somebody bring me a bucket.

"So, who's your friend?" Dennis asked as he spied me over her shoulder.

The two of them parted, and Cameron gestured to me and said, "This is Dr. Gregory House. He's... my... boss."

Dennis gave her an odd look, but then stepped forward and held his hand out to me. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Gregory," he said. "I'm Dennis Peckford."

I didn't really want to shake his hand, but Cameron was shooting me a please-don't-be-a- jerk look, so I took it and forced a smile. "It's... Greg," I said, not really wanting to get buddy-buddy with this guy, but not wanting to hear him call me "Gregory" in that uppity tone all weekend, either.

"Greg," he repeated. Then he turned to the other three young people and said, "This is my brother Sam, his fiancée Beth, and her sister Jenn."

I was a very good boy and shook hands with all of them without saying a word. I could see that Cameron was in agony waiting for me to put my foot in it, though. Like I would ever purposefully embarrass her.

"Shall we go inside?" Dennis said once the introductions were over with. He led the way before anyone even had the chance to answer. "Sam, get their bags, would you?"

Sam stopped and rolled his eyes. Then he turned on his heel and walked back to the car.

Lovely guy, this Dennis.

I took in as much as I could of each of these folks as we walked up the front steps and entered through the massive front door. Dennis I could figure out at first glance, and his brother was no less of an open book. They were similar as far as looks went, but beyond that they were like night and day. Sam was obviously the grew-up-under-Dennis'- shadow younger brother who did whatever big brother told him without a word, but with a rebellious heart. He didn't seem to have much self-confidence and little or no backbone to stick up for himself. He'd snap one of these days, though, and the two of them would never speak again, that much was clear.

As for Sam's fiancée Beth, she was blonde, bubbly, and bulimic. The two of them looked just dysfunctional enough to suit each other. Jenn was slightly quieter and healthier, but just as blonde as her younger sister. From what I could tell, she was the one of the two girls that Cameron was closest to, which seemed to stand to reason. Jenn actually seemed to have some substance to her beneath the peroxide. I just hoped she wasn't with Dennis, cause a guy like that wouldn't waste any time in extinguishing the light of intelligence in her eyes and turning her into yet another one of his lackeys.

Yes, these were interesting people, indeed. I was starting to feel as though this weekend might be fun after all.

Until Dennis spoke again.

"So, Allie... will you and Greg be sharing a room?"

I almost choked on my own tongue, and I swear Cameron turned as red as a beet.

"Um... no... separate rooms," she said. She didn't even glance in my direction, just stared at the floor like she was hoping it would open up and swallow her whole.

No, there was no question now - this was _definitely_ going to be fun.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So, what is it that you play?" I asked as I settled in on one of the three couches in the Peckford living room. I didn't fail to notice that Cameron chose to sit on a couch on the opposite side of the room, and that Dennis just happened to sit right next to her. Subtle. Even Sam and Beth didn't seem quite as eager to sit next to each other on their couch, and Jenn hugged the very end of mine as though she were afraid I was going to bite or something.

"I play drums, piano, guitar, trombone... you name it, I've played it at some point," Dennis answered with a laugh. "If you're asking what I'll be playing tomorrow, though, the answer is guitar."

"I remember when we were kids I thought you were the best guitar player I'd ever heard," Cameron said.

"Oh, you flatter me," Dennis said with a grin, reaching out to pat her thigh.

I took in his every move with an eagle eye. The way he was hovering around Cameron was really starting to grate. "So, let's hear it," I said. No harm in that, was there?

Apparently, Cameron thought there was. She shot me a look that I guess was supposed to make me cower and beg forgiveness for making such a forward suggestion. Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

Dennis, on the other hand, jumped at the chance to show off his talent to a fresh audience. "Sure," he said, standing up and hurrying over to the far end of the room to collect his guitar. It was sitting there on a stand waiting for him, all nice and shiny.

He soon returned to our little circle and started strumming tunelessly as he sat down again. "Any requests?"

Sam, Beth, and Jenn all sat there twiddling their thumbs, but Cameron's face lit up like a light bulb. "How about... A Kiss to Build a Dream On?" she said. "I always loved it when you'd play that."

I rolled my eyes and looked once again for a bucket to puke in.

Once Dennis started to play it, though, I had to sit up and take notice. The kid might be an arrogant son of a bitch, but he was a good musician. Even his singing was pretty damn good.

Cameron sure seemed to appreciate it.

"Give me a kiss to build a dream on,  
And my imagination will thrive upon that kiss.  
Sweetheart, I ask no more than this,  
A kiss to build a dream on."

She was eating it up.

I don't know why I did it. Actually, in hindsight, I guess I probably do, but at the time... it just sort of happened. Somewhere between the first and second stanzas, I rose to my feet, limped over to the piano that stood against one wall of the room, and sat down on the stool.

By the time Dennis had reached, "When I'm alone with my fancies, I'll be with you," I'd joined in.

My intention wasn't to steal the guy's spotlight or take over the song or anything, I just played quietly, letting my fingers trip over the keys in time to the pace he'd already set. The two instruments together actually sounded pretty good to my ear, and Dennis didn't hesitate in his singing or strumming, so I let myself just relax into it and enjoy the piece. It was funny, because I couldn't recall ever playing that song on the piano before, yet it seemed to come naturally to me once I got going.

It was over too soon. I sighed as I turned around to face the others... and froze when I saw that every eye in the room was on me.

I cleared my throat and shrugged. "Just thought I'd help out," I said.

Cameron had a look on her face that I couldn't quite read. "I... didn't know you could play like that," she said. She sounded... impressed?

My ego just about doubled.

I was just about to say something in response when Dennis stood up and took his guitar back to its stand. He looked slightly pissed. I couldn't say that I was sorry.

"Anyone care to take a walk along the beach before dinner?" he asked.

"Isn't it a little cold for that?" Beth asked uncomfortably.

"It's never too cold for the beach," Dennis said. He was smiling, but his chipper attitude seemed forced. Then he glanced over at me, and it was immediately replaced with a look of concern. "Oh wait... would you be able to do that?" he asked.

Okay... music or no music, I now officially hated the kid. "Do what?" I said with my best innocent air. "Walk?"

"Yeah. Well... on sand."

I glanced at Cameron, who seemed to be dying of embarrassment again. Then I looked back at Dennis and pasted a smile on my face. "I think I can probably manage it," I said.

No way was he getting away from me that easily.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Our little stroll turned out to be halfway enjoyable, even though Dennis and Cameron were the only ones who said much. They walked side by side at the front of the pack, each chattering away about stuff that had happened in their lives since the last time they'd seen each other. It seemed that they hadn't been in contact much since Cameron had entered med school, which I found interesting. That would mean that they'd known each other long before that - therefore, before Cameron's marriage to Terminally Ill Guy. It made me wonder whether Dennis even knew about it.

Behind them walked Sam and Beth. If I hadn't already been told they were engaged, I would have thought they were perfect strangers from the way they acted with each other, though I did catch them sending each other rather sympathetic glances every time Dennis mentioned one or the other of them. My guess was that big brother didn't approve of little brother's choice for a mate. I almost wished there were a way I could find out I was right without actually asking.

Jenn walked along beside me, which was really kind of nice. I wouldn't exactly call her hot or anything, but she was a sweet kid and knew when to stop with the small talk and just walk in silence. I found out during our short conversation, though, that she wasn't involved with Dennis at all. In fact it seemed that she could barely even stand him, and she already had a boyfriend who worked as a cop in Trenton. She'd come for the festival because she liked the music and knew that Cameron would be coming. I found myself feeling a little sorry for her, as Dennis seemed to want Cameron all to himself.

Not that I wasn't feeling sorry for myself for the same reason.

Pretty soon, we started back to the house. It was then that Dennis turned around to look at the rest of us and locked his gaze on me. "Still with us, Greg?" he asked.

I was very tempted to thwack him on the leg with my cane so that we'd have matching limps for the rest of the walk, but I figured that probably wouldn't be such a good idea. "No, I think you lost me a few minutes ago," I said, glancing back the way we'd come. "I don't see me anywhere."

He seemed to find that very amusing. What an idiot.

Cameron didn't look all that impressed, however. She flipped her hand to get my attention, and when I looked at her face it was shouting, "Best behaviour!" at me.

I just shrugged and shot her a helpless look. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. How could I possibly help it?

"You know, maybe tomorrow we can go for a walk along Cape Island Creek," Dennis said. He spoke loud enough that all of us could hear, though he was obviously extending the invitation to Cameron and Cameron alone. "I know of some beautiful..."

"We'd love to," I jumped in.

Cameron looked at me, then at Dennis, and then back at me. She seemed undecided as to what to say. "I... yes," she said. "That would be lovely." She forced a smile for Dennis' benefit, but as soon as he looked away from her she sent yet another glare my way.

I was starting to get used to it.

Once we were back at the house, we were all given the opportunity to clean up a little before we headed into the dining room for an early dinner. Cameron seemed to disappear after we'd gone inside, but she was already sitting at the dining room table when I entered the room a few minutes later.

And of course, Dennis was with her.

As soon as I walked through the door, Dennis looked up and said, "Greg, tell me... is it true that you were the one who saved John Henry Giles' life a couple months ago?"

I glanced at Cameron before I answered, and she was actually looking at me with a pleasant expression on her face for once. "Yep, that was me," I said as I sat down in the chair across from Cameron's.

"Well, then, the world of music owes you big time," he said. "He's been one of my idols for as long as I can remember."

I felt as though I was expected to say something else, so I nodded and said, "Good taste."

He laughed, and then resumed whatever conversation he'd been having with Cameron.

I, meanwhile, tried not to die of boredom.

Before long, Sam, Beth, and Jenn had joined us, so we were free to get down to the business of eating. The food was damn good, I have to say, and it isn't every day that you're waited on by servants while you eat stuff that would cost a hundred bucks or more per plate in a fancy restaurant. The only problem with the meal was the company I was keeping.

I tried to be good, I really did. I kept as quiet as I possibly could and just minded my own business as I enjoyed the meal, but dammit if Dennis didn't keep trying to suck me into the conversation.

"So, how long have you and Allison been working together?"

"My father's best friend once worked at Princeton-Plainsboro, did you know him? He was about your age..."

"Have you ever come across a case that you just can't figure out? That has to happen sometime, right?"

"How did you train yourself to use your left foot on the pedals when you're playing piano? That must be what you do, right? What happened to your leg, anyway?"

By this point, I'd begun to tire. Can anyone really blame me? Being surrounded by false cordiality all day long was my idea of hell, and I really wasn't in the mood to talk about my physical limitations with this guy. Before I had time to think twice about it, I put down my knife and fork and said in a mock cheerful tone, "Well, that was a wonderful meal, but I'm afraid I can't eat another bite. Would you excuse me?"

Dennis' face fell for a moment, but then the smile bounced back onto his face. "Sure, make yourself at home. Just remember that we're leaving for Convention Hall at eight."

I scooted out of there as fast as my cane would carry me, and breathed a sigh of relief as soon as I was shut safely in my room. Thankfully, I had a couple hours of sweet solitude ahead of me so I could recharge my batteries and hopefully not feel like squashing young Mr. Peckford like a bug the next time I saw him.

Well... at least not act on it.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

By the time we had to leave, I was feeling much better. Funny how playing mind numbing video games can do that for me. The others were all just the way I'd left them, unfortunately, though Dennis didn't throw any more annoying questions at me. In fact, he all but ignored my existence altogether. It was a pleasant change.

All six of us piled into the limo - well, by 'piled' I mean 'entered the spacious limousine one after another' rather than 'squeezed' - and off we went.

The first performance was a Ray Charles tribute, and I found myself enjoying it in spite of the fact that Dennis kept whispering to Cameron all the way through. His performance was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but I wished he could be up on the stage for the entire thing. I did manage to sneak into the seat on the other side of Cameron's, though, so I got to keep an eye on what was going on between them. That certainly provided me with an interesting distraction.

It was late by the time the show ended and we returned to the Peckford house. The youngsters all made their way back to the living room as soon as we walked through the door, but I was beat. I excused myself - not that anyone was really paying attention - and went to bed.

I usually take an hour or so before bed to wind down, reading a book or something along those lines, so that's what I was doing when I heard a knock at my door. I looked at the clock and saw that it was past one a.m. "Who is it?" I called out.

"It's me, Cameron. Are you decent?"

I rolled my eyes and put the book down. "I'm never decent," I said. "Come in."

The door opened slowly, and Cameron stuck her head around the side. She looked ready to run if she saw that I was naked or something.

I raised my eyebrows and folded my hands across my stomach, which was, by the way, fully covered with one of my favourite t-shirts. "Something I can do for you?" I asked.

She seemed satisfied that she wasn't about to be scarred for life, so she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Yes, there is," she said. "You can tell me why you're giving Dennis such a hard time."

Okay, that wasn't among the things I'd thought she was going to say. "_I've_ been giving _him_ a hard time?" I said. "He's been pushing my buttons ever since I got here."

"What buttons? He's just trying to be friendly, to include you in..."

"Include me?" I laughed in disbelief. "When was that, when he kept bringing up my age, or perhaps when he kept hinting that I'm no more than a cripple?"

"You have no idea how to interact with people, do you?" she said, folding her arms across her chest. She was really looking mad now. "You'd probably be happier if no one spoke to you at all for the rest of the weekend. Or does your enjoyment come from being rude to people and belittling them until they get angry with you?"

"When have I belittled anyone?" I didn't even bother asking about the rude part.

"Oh, please, the piano thing?"

"I was just joining in!"

"You were trying to show him up."

"Oh yeah, and why would I do that?"

Cameron sighed and unfolded her arms to rest her hands on her hips. "I really don't know," she said. "It just seems to be a habit with you to try to make everyone around you look inferior. For once in your life, couldn't you just act like a regular person? Just for the next couple of days, so that my friends don't walk away from this thinking..." She stopped before she could finish her sentence and looked down, chewing on her lip as she tried to reign in her emotions.

"Is this really about me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as I studied her carefully. "Or is this about you and Dennis?"

She looked uncomfortable at this question and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "There _is_ no 'me and Dennis,'" she said.

"But there was once, wasn't there?" It wasn't really intended as a question, though. The answer was pretty obvious.

She folded her arms again and avoided meeting my gaze. "Yes. Once. A very long time ago."

"And you're still interested in him now?"

"Maybe."

I looked down at my hands and cleared my throat. Then I looked up at her again and said as gently as I could, "You do realize he's a spoiled jerk, right?

Her expression turned cold in an instant. "You don't even know him."

"Maybe not, but I don't really need to know him to figure that out," I said. "He reminds me of Vogler... all money, no substance."

It was obviously the wrong thing to say. Cameron set herself in a mad-as-hell stance and said, "You want to know why Cuddy made you take this vacation?"

I certainly hadn't expected this twist in the conversation. I barely had time to look confused and shrug before she continued.

"It wasn't because _you're_ stressed out," she said, "it was because _she's_ stressed out. You've done everything you can to make her life miserable ever since Vogler showed up, and everyone is suffering for it. She needed to get you out of her hair for a few days so she could actually concentrate on her work for once."

I could hardly believe my ears. This was coming out of _Cameron's_ mouth? I would have been impressed if she wasn't aiming her comments at me. "And is that why you invited me to tag along with you?" I asked. "As a favour to Cuddy?"

"No! I invited you because... because I'm too nice for my own good sometimes."

I had to snort at that. "No kidding." That was, I'd always believed, her greatest fault, and one I'd tried to cure her of time and again.

"Believe me, I'm regretting it now," Cameron said, edging for the door. "I tell you what... the tickets we have are all-inclusive, so you can go to any event this weekend that you want. Instead of going to see Dennis play tomorrow, why don't you go to some other performance? That way we can completely avoid each other until it's time to go home. Sound fair?"

Wow. Cameron was trying to get rid of me. For some reason, that really stung. "Yeah," I said quietly. "Sounds fair." Even though it didn't. Not one little bit.

Cameron didn't say another word. She bolted from the room like there was a pit bull on her tail.

I could feel the hurt starting to settle in, but I refused to let it linger. What did it matter, anyway? So Cameron didn't want me tagging along after her anymore. So what? I never should have come in the first place.

Locking all of my unwanted thoughts and feelings away at the back of my mind where they belonged, I reached for my Vicodin and popped one into my mouth. Then I turned out the light, got comfortable, and let myself drift off to sleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The next day dawned bright and... well, rainy. That was fine, though. It suited everybody's mood.

Cameron seemed determined to avoid me at any cost, even making sure we sat at opposite ends of the breakfast table and later the limousine. Dennis, meanwhile, seemed determined to be as close to Cameron as possible at all times. I was surprised he didn't try to jump into her pants right then and there.

The other three seemed a little bit more alive than they were the day before, though, so I hung with them. At least they didn't seem to hate me. Yet. Sam even asked me to teach him how to make the little boats I was making out of the napkins at breakfast. He was a cool kid once you got to know him.

Despite the unnatural silence coming from Cameron's direction, things went pretty well until we arrived at the place where Dennis was supposed to play. That was when Cameron turned to me and made it quite clear that now was the time for me to am-scray.

Too bad I wasn't in the mood to comply. I just got out of the limo along with everyone else and followed them into the building.

Dennis disappeared as soon as we were inside, as he went backstage to join the other musicians. That was fine by me.

Until I looked at Cameron's face.

There are very few things in this world that can intimidate me. The look on her face at that moment was one of them. I felt like a first grader who'd just been caught by the teacher throwing spitballs at another kid. And yes, I know what that feels like first hand.

I shrugged and tried not to show how uncomfortable I was under her gaze. "What?"

"I thought you were going to a different performance," Cameron said.

"No, you suggested I go to a different performance so we could avoid each other. Just so happens that I don't want to avoid you, so there's really no reason for me to miss dear ol' Dennis' big number, is there?"

She rolled her eyes and turned away from me.

The next four hours were full of great music and great fun, yet I felt about as entertained as if I was having a root canal. Cameron had made sure as we were all finding our seats that Sam, Beth, and Jenn were between the two of us, and I couldn't help but feel snubbed. Damn that woman for having so much power over me. I wouldn't even have cared if it had been anyone else.

Once the performance was over, we met up again with Dennis and decided that we'd leave for a while and come back for some of the later performances. Again Cameron looked at me as if offering me a chance to go off on my own, but I didn't bite. No way was I letting them ditch me completely.

So, off we went to the nearest restaurant to celebrate Dennis' wonderful performance. Little did I know that the trouble was only just starting.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"We came to watch you play. We watched you play. Now we're leaving."

Cameron, Jenn, and I sat there playing with our forks and pretending not to be paying any attention as Dennis, Sam, and Beth argued in hushed tones a few feet away. They'd been subtly doing this ever since we'd entered the restaurant, but as soon as Sam had started in earnest, Dennis had pulled him away from the table.

I wasn't one hundred percent sure what was going on, but it seemed that Sam wanted to leave, and Dennis didn't want him to. I wondered if it had anything to do with Dennis not wanting me to be the only guest left in his house for their last night. He probably wanted the others to distract me while he and Cameron had their own little party.

After a minute or two of whispered insults, Sam finally got his way. "Come on, Jenn, we'll take you back to your place on our way home," he said when he came back to the table to collect his things. Then he slapped some money down on the table. "Wouldn't want to owe you anything," he said in a rather nasty tone to his brother.

Jenn seemed uncomfortable with all of the tension around her, so she quietly rose to her feet and went over to Cameron to give her a quick hug. "It was great seeing you again, Allison," she said. "Call me sometime, okay?"

Cameron smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I will. It was great seeing you, too."

Then Jenn turned to me. "Nice meeting you, Greg," she said politely.

"You, too," I said. I think I actually meant it.

A minute later, our little group had been cut in half. I tried to catch Cameron's eye to gauge how she was feeling about it all, but she kept her face turned away from me.

Away from me, but towards Dennis. This was really starting to get on my last nerve.

"Well, it seems to have stopped raining," Dennis said as he glanced out the window. "I guess we can have that walk along Cape Island Creek after all."

Oh, goodie.

I, unlike Sam, had no problem with Dennis footing the bill, so once he'd paid for the meal, the three of us left the restaurant and returned to the limo. Sam must have taken a cab back to the house. Part of me wished I'd gone with him.

"If you want, Greg, we can drop you off at the house first," Dennis offered oh so nicely.

Suddenly, I no longer wished I'd gone back with Sam. "No, that's fine," I said, forcing a small smile. "I love walking." Which was true, even though it wasn't exactly the reason I wanted to go along.

Still, I knew not to push my limits. Once the limo had pulled up beside the creek, I allowed Cameron and Dennis to get out first and lingered behind as we started out. Just as long as I could keep an eye on the two of them, I was a-ok.

Despite the rain showers of the morning and early afternoon, it had turned into a beautiful day - not too hot, not too cold, not to sunny, not too cloudy. I allowed myself to look around and enjoy the landscape as I walked along, even though my mind was going a million miles an hour as I pondered just about every subject under the sun.

I wasn't too immersed in my own thoughts to keep tabs on Cameron and Dennis, though. They were walking far enough ahead that I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but close enough that I could still hear their voices. They seemed to be having quite a serious discussion. I was itching with curiosity to know what they were talking about, but I held myself back. No sense in pissing Cameron off even more than she already was. I knew I'd have to work with her afterwards, and that just wouldn't be pretty.

I'd never seen Cape Island Creek before, and while in some ways it was just another mini river, we were walking along quite a lovely stretch of it. For this reason, after a while I found myself watching the flowing water pass me by. And for that reason, I missed the start of what happened next.

My attention was drawn back to Cameron and Dennis at what sounded like a cry of distress. There didn't seem to be anything wrong at first - Dennis had a piece of paper in one hand and a pen in the other, and seemed to be doodling something as he walked. I just rolled my eyes and looked back at the water below. No doubt he was showing off again.

When I looked back at them a moment later, Dennis was holding the paper high above his head, and Cameron was trying to grab it away from him. At first I thought they were just playing around, but as I drew closer I could see that Cameron was serious. Whatever was going on, she looked mad.

Dennis dodged away from her as she lunged for him, but he wasn't fast enough. She ripped the paper out of his fist and crumpled it up.

"Stop it!" I heard her snap at him.

Dennis just laughed and shook his head. He tried to grab the paper back, but Cameron backed away from him.

I didn't see in time what was happening. I saw her backing away, but I thought she knew how close she was to the edge of the bank. Now that I look back on it, I probably had enough time to warn her, but I just froze. Everything started to happen in slow motion, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

Dennis lunged for her one more time, and Cameron lost her footing. She disappeared over the edge.

"No!" I cried as she screamed. I moved as fast as I could to get over there, which really wasn't very fast at all. Still, a lot could have been done in those few seconds. Dennis, however, never moved a muscle.

"She... she..." he stammered as I came up beside him. "Allie?"

One glance over the edge of the bank and I could tell we were in trouble. It was at least twelve feet down to the water. We didn't have a moment to lose.

I slapped Dennis on the shoulder, probably a little harder than I needed to. "Go for help," I said, scanning the length of the bank to see if there was an easier spot to go down.

He seemed to snap out of his stupor then and grabbed me by the arm. "Wait... shouldn't I go down there? You won't be able to..."

"I'm the doctor, you're the one who can run," I said. "Do the math. Go!" I didn't wait for a response from him. I turned my back on him and hurried over to the spot with the gentlest slope.

"Oh God," I whispered as I saw what I was going to have to do. I could see Cameron now, half of her body submerged in the water and the other half lying limp against the rocks. I could see red all around her, but I couldn't tell where the blood was coming from. She looked dead. God, she looked _dead_.

The sound of Dennis running back the way we'd come shook some sense back into me. She wasn't dead. Of course she wasn't dead. From the looks of things, though, the tide was coming in and the water level was rising. If I didn't get her out of there, no matter what her other injuries were, she would drown. So, I scrounged up as much courage as I could find, dropped my cane, and started down the hill.

It wasn't easy. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that running down a steep hill with only one good leg is hard as hell, but if I'm being completely honest, I didn't even notice the pain in my thigh. All I could think about was that Cameron was dying down there, and if I didn't get to her within the next thirty seconds, I would lose the most important person in my life. I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Cameron?" I called out as I reached the bottom and started wading through the water towards her. I could see her face, as she was lying on her stomach with it turned in my direction, but her eyes were closed. "Dammit!" I cursed as I stumbled on a small rock and felt a shooting pain through my right leg. I didn't have time for this now. Cameron needed me.

Ignoring the pain, I kept on going until I was right beside her. The water was already lapping around her face, but I was afraid to move her just yet in case of a spinal injury. I knelt down beside her as best I could and pressed my fingers to her neck.

Thank God, she had a pulse. I finally felt as though I could breathe again.

I gave her a quick once-over to make sure she was okay to be moved. Not that I could tell for sure in a situation like this, but I really couldn't afford to play it safe this time. I stood up with one leg on either side of her, carefully scooped her up with one hand under each of her arms, and dragged her forward until she was out of the water.

Once I felt she was out of harm's way as far as the rising tide was concerned, I eased her back down to the ground and collapsed beside her. I hadn't felt as much pain in my leg since detoxing from the Vicodin, but I still didn't have time to think about that. Cameron was bleeding, and I had to figure out where.

I gently rolled her over onto her back, and that's when I saw the ugly gash in her forehead. As my eyes scanned the rest of her body, I saw that her shoulder was bleeding, too, and her leg looked like it was broken and was bleeding from a deep gash in her thigh. I didn't hesitate a second in ripping strips off my shirt to temporarily dress the wounds. I had plenty of shirts - Cameron only had so much blood.

As I was seeing to her leg, however, Cameron suddenly jerked and cried out in pain. I was hovering over her in an instant. "Cameron?"

She cracked her eyes open, but she couldn't seem to focus on anything. She obviously had a concussion, but that was no surprise. After a second or so, she moaned and closed her eyes again.

"Oh no," I said, taking her face in my hand. "No, you don't. Stay with me, Cameron. Come on."

"Ca... move," she slurred.

"You're hurt. Help is on the way, so just hang in there, okay?"

Her eyes started to flutter closed again, and for a second I thought she'd stopped breathing. It scared the crap out of me.

"No, Allison," I said, patting her face to wake her up again. "You stay with me, do you understand?" When she didn't respond, I just about panicked. I grabbed her face with both hands, not even feeling the pain anymore as I knelt there beside her. "Dammit, Allison, wake up!" I ordered. I could hear the fear in my voice, and that only scared me even more.

When her eyelids flickered again, I felt like dancing a jig. I settled for smiling. "Hey," I said as she squinted up at me.

She blinked, and then her eyes started to roll back into her head again.

"No, Allison, stay with me now," I said, more gently this time. "Help will be here any second, okay? I need you to focus on me. Can you do that?"

She seemed to be trying, but she was losing the battle. I could see that the makeshift bandages I'd applied were becoming soaked with blood, and her colour was getting worse by the second. If help didn't arrive soon...

Suddenly, all I could think about was that this might be the last time I'd get to talk to her. I'm a doctor - I knew that she shouldn't have survived that fall onto all these rocks in the first place, let alone be conscious and looking up at me now. The conversation we'd had in the hallway days before came back to haunt me as I watched her slipping away, and all I could think about was what I hadn't said. What I _should_ have said. What I would have said had it not been for my stubbornness and pride, and the way I always lock my emotions away like they're something to be ashamed of.

So, I said it.

"I love you."

Once the words were out of my mouth, I wondered why they'd ever been hard for me to say in the first place. A second later, though, I realized that she was looking up at me with those big, sad blue eyes, like she was expecting me to say something more.

"Don't die on me, okay?" I said, feeling more self-conscious than I'd felt in years. "Just hold on until help arrives."

Her eyes remained fixed on me, but she seemed totally out of it. I strained my ears to hear whether or not someone was coming, but didn't hear anything but the rushing of the water behind me.

I just about jumped out of my skin when I felt something move against my side. I looked down to see that Cameron was trying to lift her hand, and I quickly shifted position a little so I could take it in my own. I gave her an encouraging smile and squeezed her hand gently. "It's gonna be okay," I said, more to console myself than her.

If only I could make myself believe it.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It seemed like years had passed by the time Dennis returned with someone to help. He'd called 911 as well, so an ambulance wasn't far behind. Within minutes, they'd hoisted Cameron out of the creek and loaded her into the emergency vehicle.

I didn't even bother rushing to climb up that hill after them. I knew they had to whisk her off to the nearest hospital as soon as possible, so waiting for me to join them would take too long. As soon as I heard everyone's voices growing fainter as they moved farther away from the scene of the accident, I sank down onto a rock and took my pills out of my pocket. It was only then that I noticed how badly I was shaking. I almost felt like taking the entire bottle, but forced myself to only have one.

As I was putting the bottle away, I noticed that there was something white moving in the wind a few feet away from me. I knew what it was even before I picked it up - the cause of this whole mess. The piece of paper Dennis and Cameron had been fighting over. I was a little bit afraid to look at it, but I took a deep breath and slowly began to unfold it.

The paper had gotten a little wet, but the picture Dennis had drawn on it was still plain to see. My heart constricted when I saw it, and my eyes started to sting like I was going to cry. What was staring up at me from the dirty, wrinkled piece of paper was a perfect caricature of _me_.

Oh yes, Dennis had captured me well, while over-exaggerating my wrinkles, grey hair, and need for a cane. I felt like I was looking at an image of my future - fifty years into the future, to be exact. And coming out of my mouth were the words, "Am I still here? I don't see me anywhere."

I swallowed hard and crumpled the paper up again in my fist. So, that was what Cameron had almost gotten herself killed over. Dennis-the-Menace had been making fun of me, and it had made Cameron angry. She'd tried to get him to stop, but being the ass he is, he wouldn't.

It was a good thing he wasn't anywhere near me at that point, because if he had been, I probably would have killed him. Not for anything he'd done or said about me, but for hurting Allison. That was something I just couldn't let him get away with.

At that moment, though, all I could do was rest my arms on my knees, bury my face in my arms, and cry. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd cried, but it seemed that once the emotional dam I'd built had been breached, there was no holding it back. I didn't know what to do or where to go, so there I stayed, letting the water rise up over my ankles, until I felt strong enough emotionally and physically to tackle the world - and that hill - again.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It was almost two hours later before I got to the hospital Cameron had been taken to. I'd had to go back to the Peckford house first, as I had no idea where the hospital was and needed to change clothes anyway. Apparently, Dennis had called the housekeeper to tell her where Cameron had been taken, so I got my information from her, called a cab, and off I went.

Once at the hospital, it only took me a minute to find out Cameron's room number and get up there. I was hoping to just slip in, see how she was doing, and then leave, but when I saw Dennis sitting in the waiting room with his face in his hands, I decided to make a little detour.

I walked right up to him without a word, but he must have known by the sound of the cane who was coming. When he looked up at me, he looked scared. I have to admit, that gave me a nice feeling of satisfaction.

"How is she?" I asked, not even bothering to fake a friendly tone with him this time.

"She's... she's gonna be okay," he said. "I was told a minute ago that I could go in there, but..."

But he was feeling too guilty. Understandable. Not that I wanted to rub it in or anything, but I chose this moment to take the balled-up piece of paper out of my pocket and drop it into his lap.

He knew what it was as soon as he saw it, even though he didn't touch it. He just stared at it with utter conviction written all over his face.

"I hope the laugh was worth it," I said. Then I turned to go to Cameron's room.

"Greg... I'm sorry."

I swung back around to shoot him my best laser-eyed look. "Sorry for what? It's Allison you should be apologizing to, not me."

"I didn't mean to hurt her. I'd never hurt her..."

"And yet you did. Maybe you should think of that _before_ doing something stupid next time."

It occurred to me as I walked away from him that perhaps I should follow my own advice on that one. I'd said some pretty stupid things to Cameron in my time, as well. Damn me and my big mouth.

I hesitated for just a moment before entering Cameron's room. Not that I feared what I might find, because I was sure she'd received the best care and would be just fine, but I think part of me was afraid of what I would feel when I saw her again. It didn't take me long to get a grip and march in there, though.

My fears turned out to be well founded - as soon as I saw her, my heart melted like ice on a warm spring day. She looked terrible. Allison Cameron should not look that terrible. Ever. She was young, vibrant, beautiful. She shouldn't look like just another patient.

I didn't know what to do. I was in a hospital, one just like the one I work in every day, standing by the bedside of a patient like I'd done countless times before... yet I felt totally lost. I knew I wasn't going to be the one to make her better, so I hadn't a clue why I was even there.

Still, it wasn't like she had anyone else. Either I would sit with her, or Dennis would. If neither of us did, she would be completely alone, and I didn't like the thought of that. Cameron loves people. She'd want someone to be there when she woke up. So, I shoved my feelings aside and sat down in the chair by her bed.

As I sat there watching her peacefully sleeping, I suddenly felt completely drained. I always did my best to stay as fit as I could, but I'd made my body do things it wouldn't ordinarily have been capable of doing in order to save this woman's life, and I was starting to feel it now that the adrenaline had worn off.

There was a stool under her bed, so I pulled it out and propped my feet up on it. Then I got as comfortable as I could in the chair, laid my head back, and closed my eyes.

I don't know how long I was out of it, but it couldn't have been for more than an hour. When I finally realized that I'd fallen asleep, I jerked myself awake again, looking around in disorientation for a second until I remembered where I was and what had happened.

"Dr. House?" a small voice said. "Am I that sick?"

I grinned when I saw Cameron lying there looking at me with a half smile on her face. "Funny," I said, sitting up straight in my chair and stretching out the kinks. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "Tired. A little sore. Other than that, I'm okay."

"Need something for the pain?"

She went to shake her head, but winced and stopped herself. "No, it's fine," she said. "I wouldn't mind some water, though."

"You mean you haven't had enough of that stuff today?" I joked. There was a cup of water on the stand by her bed, so I helped her take a few sips.

She watched me curiously as I did so, and when I sat back again she said, "You saved me."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, and the pain in my leg started to intensify as though it were trying to give me something else to concentrate on. I told it to shut up and settled for a slight nod and a, "Yeah."

"You said you loved me."

Woops. God, I'd hoped she wouldn't remember that. Where was amnesia when you needed it? Stay cool... brush it off... "Did I?" I said as casually as I could. "That's funny, I don't remember that. You must have been delirious."

"Greg."

That one soft word said more than a thousand ever could. She knew I'd said it. Now she wanted to know why. I sighed and looked down at my hands for a second before I could meet her gaze again. "You were dying," I said. "I had to say _something_ that would get your attention."

Cameron smiled and nodded. "You do like me."

I rolled my eyes. "Would I be here if I didn't?" I said. "Go back to sleep."

Her smile softened, and she inched her hand towards me, holding it out with her palm up. I wasn't exactly a touchy-feely kind of guy, but I couldn't pass up a gesture like that. I took her hand in mine, but was careful to keep my expression guarded and neutral. No matter what had happened this weekend, I still wasn't ready to let myself go any further than that.

"I'm sorry about what I said," she whispered, even though her eyelids were growing heavy and her words were slurring together. "I'm glad you came."

I smiled as she drifted off to sleep almost before she'd finished her sentence. I reached out my free hand to brush her hair back from her face, and just sat there staring at her for a minute or two.

"Me, too," I said. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

THE END


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